Image capturing apparatus and control method thereof, and storage medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9621860-B2
Application number	US-201514674672-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 31, 2015
Priority date	Apr 1, 2014
Publication date	Apr 11, 2017
Grant date	Apr 11, 2017

Abstract

An image capturing apparatus comprises a solid-state image sensor including a pixel area where a plurality of unit pixels are arranged, each of the unit pixels including a photoelectric conversion portion, a first charge holding portion, a first charge transfer portion, a second charge holding portion, and a second charge transfer portion, a light projection unit, and a control unit configured to control to set the second charge transfer portion in an OFF state synchronized with a light projection operation by the light projection unit while keeping the first charge transfer portion in an ON state after controlling the photoelectric conversion portion to perform photoelectric conversion, and setting the first charge transfer portion and the second charge transfer portion in the ON states.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An image capturing apparatus comprising:
an image sensor including a pixel area where a plurality of unit pixels are arranged, each of the unit pixels including a photoelectric conversion portion configured to convert incident light into charges, a first charge holding portion, a second charge holding portion, a third charge holding portion, a first charge transfer portion provided between the photoelectric conversion portion and the first charge holding portion and configured to transfer charges accumulated in the photoelectric conversion portion to the first charge holding portion, a second charge transfer portion provided between the first charge holding portion and the second charge holding portion and configured to transfer charges held in the first charge holding portion to the second charge holding portion, and a third charge transfer portion provided between the second charge holding portion and the third charge holding portion and configured to transfer charges held in the second charge holding portion to the third charge holding portion;
a light projector which projects light to an object; and
a controller which controls said image sensor and said projector to set the second charge transfer portion in an OFF state synchronized with a light projection operation by said light projector while keeping the first charge transfer portion in an ON state after controlling the photoelectric conversion portion to perform photoelectric conversion, and setting the first charge transfer portion and the second charge transfer portion in the ON states.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a reset portion configured to reset the charges held in the first charge holding portion, the second charge holding portion, the third second charge holding portion, and the photoelectric conversion portion, wherein said controller controls the photoelectric conversion portion to perform photoelectric conversion, and said image sensor and said light projector to set the first charge transfer portion and the second charge transfer portion in the ON states after resetting the charges in the first charge holding portion, the second charge holding, portion, and the photoelectric conversion portion.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a timing for setting the second charge transfer portion in the OFF state in synchronism with the light projection operation by said light projector while keeping the first transfer portion in the ON state is after a start and before an end of light projection by said light projector.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said controller controls the second charge transfer portions to be turned off simultaneously in the plurality of pixel portions.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a signal read out from said image sensor is used for distance information calculation.

6. An image capturing apparatus comprising:
an image sensor including a pixel area where a plurality of unit pixels are arranged, each of the unit pixels including a photoelectric conversion portion configured to convert incident light into charges, a first charge holding portion, a second charge holding portion, a third charge holding portion, a fourth charge holding portion, a first charge transfer portion provided between the photoelectric conversion portion and the first charge holding portion and configured to transfer charges accumulated in the photoelectric conversion portion to the first charge holding portion, a second charge transfer portion provided between the photoelectric conversion portion and the second charge holding portion and configured to transfer charges accumulated in the photoelectric conversion portion to the second charge holding portion, a third charge transfer portion provided between the first charge holding portion and the third charge holding portion and configured to transfer charges held in the first charge holding portion to the third charge holding portion, and a fourth charge transfer portion provided between the second charge holding portion and the fourth charge holding portion and configured to transfer charges held in the second charge holding portion to the fourth charge holding portion;
a light projector which projects light to an object; and
a controller which controls said image sensor and said projector to set the second charge transfer portion in an OFF state synchronized with a light projection operation by said light projector while keeping the first charge transfer portion in an ON state after controlling the photoelectric conversion portion to perform photoelectric conversion, and setting the first charge transfer portion and the second charge transfer portion in the ON states.

7. The apparatus according to 6 , further comprising a reset portion configured to reset the charges held in the first charge holding portion, the second charge holding portion, and the photoelectric conversion portion, wherein said controller controls the photoelectric conversion portion to perform photoelectric conversion, and controls said image sensor and said light projector to set the first charge transfer portion and the second charge transfer portion in the ON states after resetting the charges in the first charge holding portion, the second charge holding portion, and the photoelectric conversion portion.

8. The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein a timing for setting the second charge transfer portion the OFF state synchronized with the light projection operation by said light projector while keeping the first charge transfer portion in the ON state is after a start and before an end of light projection by said light projector.

9. The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein said controller controls the second charge transfer portions to be turned off simultaneously in the plurality of pixel portions.

10. The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein a signal read out from said image sensor is used for distance information calculation.

11. A control method of controlling an image capturing apparatus including an image sensor including a pixel area where a plurality of unit pixels are arranged, each of the unit pixels including a photoelectric conversion portion configured to convert incident light into charges, a first charge holding portion, a second charge holding portion, a third charge holding portion, a first charge transfer portion, a second charge transfer portion and a third charge transfer portion; and a light projector, the method comprising:
controlling the image sensor and the light projector to set the second charge transfer portion in an OFF state synchronized with a light projection operation by the light projector while keeping the first charge transfer portion in an ON state after controlling the photoelectric conversion portion to perform photoelectric conversion, and setting the first charge transfer portion and the second charge transfer portion in the ON states,
wherein the first charge transfer portion is provided between the photoelectric conversion portion and the first charge holding portion and configured to transfer charges held in the photoelectric conversion portion to the first charge holding portion, the second charge transfer portion is provided between the first charge holding portion and the second charge holding portion and configured to transfer charges held in the first charge holding portion to the second charge holding portion, and the third charge transfer portion is provided between the second charge holding portion and the third charge holding portion and configured to transfer charges held in the second charge holding portion to the third charge holding portion, and wherein the light projec

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Saito Makiko

Classifications

• H04N25/771

  comprising storage means other than floating diffusion · CPC title

• G01S7/4863 Primary

  Detector arrays, e.g. charge-transfer gates · CPC title

• G01S17/894

  Three-dimensional [3D] imaging with simultaneous measurement of time-of-flight at a two-dimensional [2D] array of receiver pixels, e.g. time-of-flight cameras or flash lidar · CPC title

• H04N9/31 Primary

  Projection devices for colour picture display {, e.g. using electronic spatial light modulators [ESLM]} · CPC title

• G01S7/4865

  Time delay measurement, e.g. time-of-flight measurement, time of arrival measurement or determining the exact position of a peak (peak detection in noise, signal conditioning G01S7/487) · CPC title